This paper introduces a user-driven approach to designing new educational formats including new media for learning. Focus will be on didactic design involving the use of information technology as a means of mediating, augmenting or even fundamentally changing teaching and learning practices. The two key points in the article are the introduction of a Quadrant-Model, and the understanding of the user as a construction.

In the fall of 2010, a class of eleven visual design graduate students at Kent State University were challenged to secure 25 new employers for Cleveland Sight Center clients who were blind or visually impaired (BVI). The problem, unframed and atypical for most visual design students, unfolded into a much broader set of issues in challenges over the 15-week course. Our mission goal expanded to finding innovative and sustainable solutions using design thinking, a design protocol for solving problems using exploratory design processes and experimentation. This protocol examines problems in a holistic way and from multiple perspectives, recognizing creative opportunities and devising multiple solutions, using multi-disciplinary teamwork.

The yearlong project is significant for a number of reasons as it raises important questions for visual designers: How can graduate courses be designed to affect social policies? How can our research be applied to other sight centers in the country? How can similar research begin constructing models for affecting change at national, state or local levels? How can our specific research be used to initiate new policies for blind and visually impaired persons? How can similar courses be designed to affect social changes in local communities?

After a total of 13 years experience teaching various courses for various programs online at the university level, the authors discovered that there are unique pedagogical approaches required by different disciplines. Couple this with a constant treadmill requirement of keeping up with the technology. This is further complicated by a constant need to monitor and risk mitigate against what can broadly be described as ‘technical difficulties’. The growth of the online teaching market and the tools that have the potential to facilitate this market, on a timeline, differs from traditional academic timelines associated with planning, scheduling, purchasing of software and hardware, deployment to faculty, students, and classrooms, along with training of all humans involved. This paper represents a set of best practices and lessons learned; along with some data representing how non-intuitive online teaching and the experience associated with it has been.

Service-learning is an increasingly popular pedagogy designed to enrich academic learning with community service work. In the service-learning courses, generally, the students get opportunity to apply the acquired knowledge into real life situations through the community service projects. In this study, the authors argue that the service-learning pedagogy not only gives students the opportunities for knowledge application, but it can also provide students hands-on experiences in discovering new knowledge and deliver the professional consulting services. The authors use the case study research to explore effective use of inquiry based service-learning approach for business management courses, and how it can drive desired learning outcomes. The findings of this study provide important insights about how to effectively integrate inquiry based instruction with the service-learning pedagogy in the context of business education.

Many health promotion (HP) programs in organizations fail as compared to their initial goals. Thus deeper insights into implementation processes and the fate of HP projects are needed. Due to the complexity of HP case method research is the most suitable approach. Hospitals, long term care (LTC) facilities and schools are organizations of special interest since HP interventions often interfere in the interactions between professionals and clients and thus also concern communication and collaboration processes between the highly specialized professional staff from different disciplines. Therefore, in implementing HP programs these very specific processes are seen as critical. The current study aims to generate insights which specific factors have to be considered in implementing HP programs in schools, hospitals and LTC facilities, and if there are differences between the three settings. The design of the study incorporates intensive within-case analyses in three organizations within each of the three settings, across-case comparisons within each setting as well as across-case comparisons between settings. The speciality of the current study is that it is the first comprehensive study comparing cases from different settings regarding specific communication and collaboration processes in implementing HP programs. Systems theory yields the theoretical foundation.

In Alberta, Canada, over 8500 people have Parkinson Disease (PD). While health and support services do not cure the disease, they help to maintain health status and quality of life, as well as delay or prevent costly institutionalization. In 2008, Alberta Health Services was created, shifting care to a more centralized delivery system. What is the impact? This Case Study explores this, utilizing a phased approach with mixed and multiple methods to survey and interview persons with PD, their caregivers, service providers and decision makers, and explore changes, if any, in the availability, accessibility and costs of health and support services. Survey, interview and focus group instruments were developed for each group. Participant recruitment was through various means. Limitations were noted in the study with sampling and access to participants across Alberta. Descriptive statistical analysis was used with quantitative data, and qualitative interview/focus group data was thematically analyzed. The results will be trinangulated to support identified satisfaction or challenges in services available and accessible by persons with PD and their caregivers as well as service providers. Recommendations are proposed from this case study. Knowledge Translation is far reaching including the application of this Case Study design and mixed methods approach.

Recent developments in genetics have lead to a variety of new methods in medicine. Over the last two decades some completely new methodological approaches have emerged and are by now established in daily research routine. This article is focussed on Mendelian randomization, a method which uses information from genetic case studies to clarify causal relations between parameters found to be associated in muliti-center epidemiological randomized trials. I argue that, with Mendelian randomization, multilevel analysis has in fact entered the stage of medicine: It could be referred to as “genetic multilevel analysis” in that it establishes causal relations by means of transition from the macro to the micro level and back. Features of multilevel analysis, as it was established in economics and sociology, and went to philosophy from there, are compared with Mendelian randomization, where at the micro level individual genetically defined polymorphic sub-populations are analyzed. Max Weber, who contributed to medical methodology himself and may be regarded as one of the founding fathers of sociology, is proposed as a major inspirator for multilevel analysis.

Successful university departments have many facets that need to be considered for effective operation. These include continuing development of faculty, strong leadership and a positive workplace environment. Faculty development is professional training for staff aiming to increase their knowledge and skills in their area of work. Leadership is the process whereby an appointed faculty member develops, sets and maintains direction for the organization and its employees. Organizational culture is the social and psychological environment of the workplace. This thesis in progress is a single, exploratory case study investigating these topic areas.

The Gippsland Medical School (GMS) is a rurally located school in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science (FMNHS) at Monash University in Australia. GMS is an excellent ‘case’ for research as it is a relatively small school both in number of students and faculty compared to other medical schools.

This case study will provide valuable insight into the faculty development needs, leadership structure and culture of GMS.

Smartphones have become commonplace in today’s society. There seems to be a mobile application for every conceivable use, expect one. Smartphones have been conspicuously absent in higher education. This research examines the use of mobile applications (apps) in the higher education setting. In addition, it evaluates the potential for including smartphone application development in undergraduate computer science curriculum. This paper will present a variety of smartphone apps that were developed by undergraduate researchers for use for use by students and faculty in a university environment, and apps developed to enhance the educational experience in the classroom. We also study the efficacy of the inclusion of smartphone app development in the computer science curriculum and modes for its inclusion.

In educating human service practitioners, client cases are a staple in the pedagogy of practicing and acquiring counseling skills. Part of the learning is attunement to the client’s presenting problem, processing of feelings, assessment and intervention. While identification of feelings is a core skill, the unknown factor within a client’s situation can be overlooked especially in situations where there is no concrete answer. An unknown outcome can be challenging for the client as well as the naïve practitioner. Excerpts, that highlight an unknown factor, can serve to assist practitioners in their recognition of this unique feeling, and acquiring the intervention skills that will help the client to regulate their emotions through tolerance.